Chapter Text
The glass of the window shattered spectacularly, eliciting screams and gasps from the unsuspecting portraits. A moment later, in flew a cloaked figure--no, a Dementor--with its arms wrapped around a girl. It floated over the broken glass covering the floor and set the girl down on her feet next to the desk, where she immediately folded inwards in pain, one arm wrapped around her stomach and the other bracing herself against the hardwood surface.
“Can someone...please...get my dad?” Lily Potter asked.
Half the portraits needed no further instruction and were gone in an instant. Lily slowly pulled out a chair and lowered herself into it, trembling.
The Dementor seemed confused. It looked around at the walls, then at Lily, and floated slowly away from her. Lily took no notice, eyes clenched tight and chest heaving with deep breaths. Her clothes were battered and torn. Her skin was marred with red lines that looked like burns. On her face, it was impossible not to notice--two thick diagonal streaks met and crossed at the bridge of her nose, leaving her with an X that stretched from her hairline to her jawline.
“What’s this commotion?” The portrait of Phineas Nigellus demanded, as he appeared in his frame. “What in god’s--why is there a Dementor in the Headmaster’s office?”
At this prompting, Lily raised her head and opened her eyes to look at the Dementor. “You have to go.” She told it, sounding apologetic.
The Dementor drifted closer and reached out to just brush her shoulder with its fingers.
“I know.” Lily’s shoulders slumped for a moment, before tensing again with pain. “You’ve done so, so much, Victoria. Thank you. But you can’t...if they see you, it’ll only upset them. I’ll be okay.”
The Dementor lifted up its sleeve to reveal a bracelet made of small glowing balls.
“Can you--agh!” Lily whimpered and shut her eyes tight for a few seconds, before continuing. “Can you really hold it for that long?”
The Dementor didn’t visibly respond.
Lily nodded and halfway sat up. She pulled an unfamiliar wand out of her cloak, concentrated hard, and whispered, “expecto patronum.”
Silver light burst from the wand and washed over the Dementor. It seemed to shrink, then its black cloak became gray, became faint, and disappeared. Underneath was a silvery-transparent young woman wearing an old fashioned dress, with a look of the deepest concern on her face. She pressed her hands over her mouth and gazed around at the staring portraits on the walls with fear and embarrassment.
A small shudder and gasp from Lily, who had already begun to curl up again as pain wracked her body, broke the shocked silence. The ghost forgot the portraits in an instant and turned back to Lily.
“What can I do?” She asked quickly. She put a hand on Lily’s back and rubbed it gently. “There has to be something, I can’t just watch you--” She squeaked as Lily had a sudden spasm of agony.
“Don’t.” Lily said firmly. Her head was bowed and both her fists were clenched. “You know better. Focus. Distract me. Please. What did you used to do?”
“Do?” The ghost was perplexed.
“For a living. A job.” Lily said. The pain eased for a moment, and her breathing softened. “Or a hobby.”
“I...I was a baker.” The ghost shook off some lingering confusion and kept rubbing Lily’s back. “I baked things, sweet things.”
“Really?” Lily seemed cheered by the idea. “Did you like baking?”
“Oh, I loved it.” The ghost seemed to lighten in color a shade as it smiled. “So many wonderful smells. I liked that it made people happy, my fiance had such a sweet tooth…” She trailed off, and darkened again. The faint outline of a dark cloak covered her frame. Her hand stalled on Lily’s back.
“Victoria, happy .” Lily snapped. “Focus.”
“I’m sorry.” The ghost shook her head violently and returned to her gentle stroking. “I, um, baking, I love baking, my little brother couldn’t stand it so I always got his pocket change by trade.”
“Brother!” Lily said encouragingly, even as she lowered herself out of the chair onto her hands and knees and struggled for breath. “Tell me about your...your family.”
“I had a younger brother-” Victoria was cut off by a loud whimper from Lily, but continued after a moment. “A, a younger brother and an older brother, and three younger sisters, and a cat.”
“Uh-huh?” Lily was shaking hard. She leaned in and touched her forehead against the floor, her breath coming in dry sobs. Victoria looked impatiently at the empty fireplace.
“M-my younger brother wanted to name the cat...McWhiskers.” Victoria said. Her voice was uncertain and fearful. “But we, um, I s-suggested--”
Lily wrapped her arms around her torso, curled up on her side and screamed. Victoria covered her mouth with both hands in abject horror.
10 seconds. 15 seconds. The screaming finally subsided. Lily’s gasping for air was now thick and wet as tortured tears streamed liberally down her face.
Lily mumbled something inaudible.
“What?” Victoria asked. Her voice trembled.
“Whadju...name...the cat?” Lily asked. She slumped bonelessly onto her back and opened her watery eyes to stare at the ceiling.
“W-w-we, um.” Glistening tears streaked down Victoria’s ghostly face, disappearing as soon as they left her skin. “N-named him Dumpling.”
The quiet tension of the moment gave way to a clamor of action. A roaring fire burst into the fireplace, and from it two adults emerged. Victoria flew backwards to float uncertainly next to the wall as the man knelt down and with an agonized “ Lily! ” embraced his daughter.
Lily was pawed over and picked up and carried away with a flurry of motion that was expedient and desperate. In hardly a minute’s time, the office was empty of people once more.
The ghost floated slowly over to the fireplace. “I’m sorry.” She told it. Her breath hitched. “I should’ve been able to--I can’t save anyone--”
She buried her face in her hands. The black cloak of a Dementor formed over her, until there was nothing human left visible. The Dementor floated in place for a long moment, then leaned in to pick something up off the carpet. The glowing bracelet from before. It silently slipped the bracelet back onto its wrist, then slipped out of the shattered windows of the office, into the cold December night.